AI Updates to Kickstart Your 2025

This Week in AI

AI didn’t take a break over the holidays, and if you unplugged like I did, you might feel a little behind. Don’t worry—this week’s Zero to Unicorn has you covered with the key updates you need to stay ahead.

Here's what’s inside:

• Major AI announcements you might have missed

• CB Insight’s AI tech trends for 2025

• 10 bold AI travel predictions

• AI Agents are taking over as martech’s lead conductor

• How GenAI is impacting the future of work

• 4 ways to unlock AI collaboration

AI Didn’t Take a Holiday - Here’s What You Missed

Need a quick catch-up on all the latest AI news. Here are the highlights:

Google's AI-Generated Ads Go Mainstream
Google is now using generative AI to create ad creatives from product descriptions and headlines. This time-saving feature is promising but requires careful review for brand voice consistency and generic messaging.

Instagram's AI Tools for Content Creation
Instagram is rolling out "Movie Gen," a generative AI tool that allows creators to modify outfits, settings, and contexts in videos. While it’s a creative leap, it raises concerns about distinguishing real from synthetic media.

OpenAI's '12 Days of OpenAI' Highlights
OpenAI unveiled several updates during its recent campaign:

• o1 Model: A faster, more accurate multimodal AI.

• Sora: A text-to-video tool for seamless video creation.

• ChatGPT Canvas: Visualize ideas and workflows for better collaboration.

• Apple Integration: Sync AI tools with macOS and iOS for streamlined workflows.

• GPT Accessibility: Building custom GPTs just got easier, even for non-coders.

• Enterprise Tier: A $200/month tier with higher usage rates and an analytics dashboard.

You can read the full post at AI Vibes or you can check out Matt Wolfe’s AI News wrap-up at Future Tools. 

The Tech Shifts We’ll See in 2025

CB Insights predicts we’ll see at least 15 tech trends this coming year. Here are the ones on AI:

AI Agents with Financial Autonomy
A few tech companies are developing ways to let AI systems make purchases and handle financial transactions independently. This could change how businesses use automation, especially in online shopping and banking.

Data Centers Are Getting a Makeover
As demand for AI grows, data centers will need much more power—possibly twice as much by 2026. To keep up, major tech companies are focusing on energy-saving innovations to handle the surge without wasting resources.

AI Acquisitions Are Booming
Since 2020, the number of companies buying AI startups has doubled. Big players like Nvidia, Salesforce, and Accenture are buying these startups to stay competitive and meet rising demand for AI tools in business.

Read more at CB Insights.

The Boldest Travel Predictions for the AI Era

AI is set to shake up the travel industry in ways we haven’t seen before. I asked 10 travel innovators for their boldest predictions for 2025. 

Here are the top 5:

• AI-Driven Personalization: Voice AI combined with sentiment analysis and facial recognition will create hyper-personalized virtual travel experiences, complete with lifelike avatars that mirror human expressions.

• The Rise of AI-Influenced Beliefs: A bold prediction claims the emergence of an "AI religion," where people follow an advanced AI bot's insights as a spiritual guide.

• Immersive Destination Storytelling: Travel marketing will shift from static blogs to interactive AI-driven experiences like augmented reality maps that cater to accessibility needs.

• AI Agents Taking Over: Major platforms and private companies will roll out advanced AI agents across industries. Their ability to answer complex questions may challenge existing travel intermediaries like Google and OTAs.

• AI Before Travel: Real innovation will first reshape industries like education and entertainment before travel catches up.

• AI-Powered Hotels: Expect hotels to leverage AI for faster staff training across all departments, ensuring service standards are met more efficiently.

AI is set to transform the travel industry from how we plan trips to how we experience destinations.

Check out all 10 predictions here.

AI Agents Take Over as Martech’s Lead Conductor

If the martech stack were an orchestra, who's the conductor?

Martech expert Scott Brinker points to a new category of tools called iPaaS (integration-platform-as-a-service) as the original "conductors" of the modern tech stack. Platforms like Mulesoft, Workato, and Zapier revolutionized digital operations by allowing teams to automate processes across multiple tools.

Today, the tech stack has multiple platforms competing for that central conductor role. Many teams try to standardize on a single platform (like Hubspot) to automate workflows, but nearly one-third also use an iPaaS alongside their core tools.

Now, a major shift is happening.

AI agents are emerging as the next evolution in orchestration. These systems go beyond basic automation, autonomously managing and optimizing tech integrations. They’re making decisions, streamlining workflows, and boosting efficiency across entire tech ecosystems.

Salesforce is leaning into this shift with Agentforce, while HubSpot has introduced Breeze AI agents, and co-founder Dharmesh Shah launched agent.ai, calling it "the professional network for AI agents." Microsoft has incorporated Copilot Studio into Dynamics, while Braze, Bloomreach, and Zeta have launched their own AI agents.

Brinker sums it up best: AI agents are ushering in a new era of intelligent automation.

Read Brinker’s blog at Chief Martech or watch the video at RevOps FM.

10 Ways Gen AI Will Transform Our Work

Generative AI is redefining how we work, helping teams streamline tasks, spark creativity, and focus on more strategic efforts.

Anna Burgess Yang has 10 tactics for making the most of it:

1. Automate Routine Tasks: Cut down on manual work like data entry, social scheduling, and performance reporting so your team can focus on strategy.

2. Generate Content Faster: Use AI for first drafts of blog posts, ad copy, product descriptions, and even creative headlines—then refine them for your brand.

3. Enhance Personalization: Deliver hyper-personalized campaigns by using AI to analyze customer behavior and tailor messaging to different audience segments.

4. Optimize Ad Performance: AI tools can test headlines, visuals, and CTAs at scale to identify the most effective combinations faster than manual testing.

5. Simplify Data Analysis: Let AI handle complex data tasks, making it easier to spot trends, track ROI, and make smarter campaign decisions.

6. Collaborate Smarter: Use AI for brainstorming, generating creative variations, and providing insights to fuel team discussions.

7. Maintain Brand Consistency: Train AI models on your brand guidelines to ensure all content aligns with your voice and style.

8. Speed Up Design Workflows: Experiment with AI-powered design tools for layout ideas, image generation, and creative suggestions.

9. Support Team Learning: Use AI tools to help train staff with content recommendations, knowledge sharing, and skills assessments.

10. Drive Innovation: Freeing up time from repetitive tasks lets teams focus on bigger ideas, creative storytelling, and campaign breakthroughs.

The future of marketing belongs to teams that can balance AI's power with human creativity. Start small, test what works, and scale your use of AI to drive real impact.

Read the full article at the Writer blog.

4 Tactics to Unlock AI Collaboration

Nobody knows whether AI will deliver on its peak of inflated expectations, but many experts claim this is just the beginning. Microsoft predicts the total market for AI will reach $738 billion in the next five years, and The Economist estimates that 80% of organizations in the U.S. and China rely on AI on a daily basis.

In either scenario, you need to be ready. According to HBR author Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, there’s a simple formula for integrating AI into your workflows and teams. 

Here are the four steps:

1. Upskill Your Workforce: Reskilling is critical. Teach teams how to collaborate with AI, not fear it.

2. Human-Centered Value: AI can't replace empathy, creativity, or problem-solving. Develop skills AI can't replicate.

3. Empower Managers & Influencers: They're the bridge between strategy and execution and the people your teams listen to —equip them to lead AI adoption effectively.

4. Promote Experimentation: Encourage teams to explore AI tools without fear of failure.

AI is here to stay, but Chamorro-Premuzic says success lies in how we blend human potential with technology.

Read more at HBR.